Controlling an operation of a hydraulic output device in a hydraulic circuit is conventionally accomplished using a single spool type valve. The single spool valve has a series of metering slots which control flows of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic circuit including a flow from a pump to the hydraulic output device and a flow from the hydraulic output device to a tank. When the hydraulic output device is a hydraulic cylinder, these flows are commonly referred to as pump-to-cylinder flow and cylinder-to-tank flow, respectively.
The metering slots are machined into the stem of the spool valve. With this arrangement, slot timing and modulation are fixed. In order to modify the performance of the hydraulic circuit, the stem must be remachined. Furthermore, in order to add additional features to the performance of the hydraulic circuit, an entirely new stem may be required. This makes adding features to or optimizing the performance of the hydraulic circuit expensive and time consuming.
The independent metering valve is comprised of four independently operable, electronically controlled metering valves to control flows within the hydraulic circuit. Two of the metering valves are disposed between the input port and the control ports. The other two metering valves are disposed between the output port and the control ports. Because each of the metering valves is controlled electronically, the performance of the hydraulic circuit can be modified by adjusting a control signal to one or more of the metering valves.
What is needed is a system and method for controlling a conventional metering valve, or more specifically, for controlling an independent metering valve, that allows the performance of a hydraulic circuit to be efficiently modified and optimized without having to remachine conventional stems.